Easy Blueberry Jam with Chia Seeds (Low Sugar and No Pectin)

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

This Easy Blueberry Jam recipe is low sugar and made without pectin. It’s very quick and easy to make this blueberry chia seed jam. We love it at breakfast as a healthy toast topping.

This is the best healthy easy blueberry jam recipe

This is such an easy blueberry jam recipe that we always have a jar of this in our refrigerator. In other words, we can’t get enough of this easy blueberry jam in our household.

This jam recipe only has 4-ingredients

It is a low-sugar jam recipe

You make this jam without pectin

Chia seed jam makes a healthy toast topping

Blueberries are perfect to use for chia seed jams

Blueberries are the perfect fruit to use for chia seed jam because blueberries are naturally high in pectin. So while some chia seed jams require a lot of chia seeds to gel, you only need 1 1/2 tablespoons of chia seeds for blueberry chia seed jam.

This low sugar blueberry jam is sweetened with maple syrup

You read that right! This is a low sugar blueberry jam that has no added refined sugars.

To slightly sweeten this no sugar blueberry jam, I only use 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in this recipe. Alternatively, you can use honey if you prefer.

Both natural sweeteners work great when making jam without sugar, but I find that the maple syrup imparts a richer taste. If you plan on feeding this jam to a baby though, use maple syrup.

Because it is a low sugar jam recipe, this is a blueberry refrigerator jam.

The reason why jam recipes use a lot of sugar is because sugar acts as a preservative. Since this is a low sugar jam recipe, this is a refrigerator jam.

In a nutshell, the idea of traditional jam making is that you preserve fruit by stopping the natural decay of it. Between the high concentration of sugar, the acid from the fruit, and the boiling of the jam to a high temperature, micro-organisms are destroyed.

As this is a low sugar blueberry jam recipe, it does not contain any added refined sugar. Making jam without sugar removes one of the elements from traditional jam making that helps preserve the fruit.

Thus, this Easy Blueberry Jam is not self stable, and needs to be kept in the refrigerator, as well as consumed within one week. (That shouldn’t be hard to do though!)

You can make this blueberry jam without pectin

This is an easy 4-ingredient blueberry jam without pectin. The reason you can make this blueberry jam without adding pectin is two-fold.

First, blueberries are naturally high in pectin. That means blueberries will naturally gel together into a jam-like consistency when boiled.

Second, the chia seeds act as an additional gelling agent in this jam recipe so you don’t need pectin. The chia seeds replace the function of pectin in this recipe.

This recipe uses 1 1/2 tablespoons of chia seeds. If you are worried that the jam might be seedy, you can probably get away with making this blueberry jam with only 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.

But I find that the texture is no different than other traditional berry jam recipes. Plus, I want that extra 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds in my jam because they are a healthy superfood.

Ingredients

Instructions

In a medium saucepan on medium high heat, add in the blueberries. Cook, stirring the blueberries, until the they start to release some juices. Mix in the maple syrup and lemon zest. Cook until the blueberries begin to bubble and boil.

Turn the heat down to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to smush the blueberries open, or use a potato masher (quicker and easier).

Turn the heat down to a simmer and stir in the chia seeds. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. At this point, the jam will look like it’s starting to thicken. If not, cook for another 5 minutes. The jam will still be a little runny as it only finishes thickening after it cools.

Allow to cool slightly then transfer to a jar. To quickly cool the jam, set the jar in a bowl of cold water. Cover and store the jam in the refrigerator.

Notes

This is not a shelf stable jam. Use within 1 week and keep refrigerated.

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Condiments

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Easy Blueberry Jam

Special Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Author: The Worktop

Cal : 448kcal

Tried this recipe?If you loved making this recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! I’d love to see it too – snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using #theworktop and tagging me @theworktop.

Once you make this easy blueberry jam with chia seeds, serve it on top of these breakfasts:

About Tina Jui

A breakfast lover and food blogger. Tina develops everyday breakfast recipes on The Worktop, and writes about all things related to breakfast and brunch. Originally from California, she now lives in London. Read more about Tina Jui or drop an email to say hi.